The following ten movies were at the top of the box office this past weekend.

Dunkirk (Warner Bros. Pictures, PG-13) debuted at $50.5 million. The Christopher Nolan-directed action thriller tells the fact-based story of Allied troops in World War II who evacuated the French city of Dunkirk before Nazis could take the city.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (Sony Pictures, PG-13) made $22.2 million in its third week, for a current total of $251.9 million. The sixteenth entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe focuses on newest Avengers recruit Peter Parker as he struggles to balance his normal high-school life with the responsibilities of a superhero.

War for the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox, PG-13) made $20.9 million in its second week, for a current total of $98.2 million. The final installment of the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise, this chapter pits Caesar and his apes in a deadly battle against the Colonel’s ruthless human army.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (EuropaCorp/STX films, PG-13) debuted at $17 million. Luc Besson directs this action/sci-fi film based on a famous French comic book series. In the 28th century, special operatives Valerian and Laureline must protect the City of a Thousand Planets from forces that could threaten the entire universe.

Despicable Me 3 (Universal Pictures, PG) made $13 million in its fourth week, for a current total of $213.6 million. Illumination continues its Despicable Me franchise with a new adventure that has Gru reuniting with his long-lost sibling to team up against former 1980s child star Balthazar Bratt.

Baby Driver (Sony Pictures, R) made $6.1 million in its fourth week, for a current total of $84.3 million. In Edgar Wright’s latest, talented young getaway driver Baby attempts a doomed last heist, all to a killer soundtrack.

The Big Sick (Amazon Studios, R)made $5 million in its second week, for a current total of $24.5 million. A romantic comedy based on the real-life courtship of Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, in which the girl contracts a mystery illness, leaving the guy to navigate the aftermath with the girl’s parents – whom he’s never met.

Wonder Woman(Warner Bros. Pictures, PG-13)made $4.6 million in its eighth week, for a current total of $389 million. This entry into the DC Expanded Universe stars Amazon princess-turned superhero Wonder Woman as she leaves her island home to help restore peace during World War I.

Wish Upon (Broad Green Pictures, PG-13) made $2.5 million in its second week, for a current total of $10.5 million. In this horror thriller, a teenage girl is gifted an old music box with the power to grant the owner’s wishes. And the wishes come true – until people start dying.

Which of these films have you seen or want to see? Do you think there are any other films that deserve to be on this list? And what’s your take on the overwhelming majority of SFX-based movies and lack of purely animated films?

About Amber

Amber is an imaginative storyteller and visual artist whose greatest ambition is to tell meaningful stories that resonate with people. Since she was young, Amber has enjoyed escaping to faraway worlds through animation, and has continued to follow animation into adulthood because of its limitless storytelling possibilities. Picking favorites is nearly impossible, but Amber would say her top animated films include The Little Mermaid, The Incredibles, The Emperor’s New Groove, and Frozen. She graduated with a B.A. in Interactive Media/Graphic Design and a minor in Journalism, and is currently working as an advertising designer. When she’s not at her day job, Amber can be found working on digital illustrations and photo edits, drafting a new fiction story, or crafting a new cosplay. Send her a tweet at @amber_ld.

Yellow

I hope these box office articles stick around! I’ve only seen Apes, but it’s sad to see it slip so much in its second weekend. And Valerian…geez, that’s a weak debut.
Then for that last question, I don’t see the issue because more animated movies are coming out. We’ve got *sigh* The Emoji Movie coming this weekend, and later Coco. And when major animated movies debut, they tend to do well.

Amber Dvorak

Thanks for weighing in! The box office articles will definitely stick around if there’s an interest in them.
And true – even though we seem to have more animated movies than ever, I guess it just struck me how they are still in the minority. Or maybe it’s just that I haven’t been interested in any of the animated films out yet this year, short of Lego Batman. But I am looking forward to Coco this fall!

Amber Dvorak

These articles will definitely stick around if people like them! 🙂
As for your last point, I think that I just sometimes forget how small a share of the overall movie marketplace animation still has. Granted, it has come a LONG way from what it used to be…one or two Disney movies a year. Dark times!